Core Courses

The state Board of Education moved yesterday toward stringent new graduation requirements that would add a fourth year of math and social studies, a year of technology education and community service to the hurdles students must clear to win their high school diplomas.After extensive debate, board members went far beyond the recommendations of their staff and of a January task force on graduation requirements -- increasing the total number of prescribed "core" courses from 15 to 17.Additional requirements would be imposed as students decided to continue their studies after high school or go straight to work.

Maryland has lost its appeal with the NCAA over the eligibility of Sam Cassell Jr. “We've exhausted every option and made our best effort," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said in a news release. "I'm very pleased with the work that our compliance staff put in on Sam's behalf. Obviously, we're very disappointed that he will be unable to attend the University of Maryland at this time and be a part of our basketball program. We will continue to support Sam and his family in any way that we can as they determine their next steps.

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. -- Don't expect the Atlantic Coast Conference to adopt another get-tougher policy if the NCAA goes through with its plan to implement higher standards for initial eligibility.While some major conferences allow members to admit students -- without financial aid -- who don't qualify for freshman eligibility under the standards known as Proposition 48, the ACC does not. The conference's position, however, would probably change if the NCAA enacts stricter standards it has approved.

Slowly but surely, a collective look of confusion came down upon a group of local high school athletes during a college fair last week, as Samuel Walker peppered them with questions on how to get a college scholarship. The kids weren't necessarily obtuse and Walker's questions weren't extraordinarily difficult, but the topic of getting cleared to play at an NCAA school has become so complicated that you practically need, well, a college degree to know how to get one. "If someone tells me the process or talks to me about the process, I'm intrigued about how they know it," said Walker, a counselor with the CollegeBound Foundation.

Morgan State University athletic director Leonard Braxton said last night that black athletes would be "knocked backward" toward the junior college level by yesterday's vote by NCAA schools for the toughest academic standards in the history of collegiate sports.Braxton said: "If we can't give financial assistance to Division I black athletes, they will have to go to junior colleges. The cost of going to Syracuse is $22,000 a year, and there's no way a lot of black athletes can afford it. It's all set up now where they [predominantly white schools]

As the NCAA implements rules that change one aspect of freshman eligibility requirements, some local coaches applaud while others yawn. High schools now have more of a liberal hand in determining the core courses that athletes must take to participate in college sports during their freshman year. Last spring, an NCAA subcommittee recommended the change, which was approved by the Division I and II membership at last month's NCAA Convention. "The NCAA is saying that you have an educator in charge of the schoolhouse and he or she is going to determine whether these are college level courses these youngsters are taking," said Ron Belinko, athletics coordinator for public schools in Baltimore County.

University presidents appear to be in charge of football and basketball on their campuses. They should be, and it's about time. For years it has been clear that on some campuses, at least, many athletes were students in name only. Entrance requirements were laughably low or non-existent, as was required scholastic progress after matriculation. The presidents began to reassert themselves in the early 1980s, and gradually they have made real progress against those athletic directors and alumni groups who oppose any reform that might weaken a team's won-loss record.

WASHINGTON -- After meeting for more than two hours yesterday at Georgetown University with the executive board of the Black Coaches Association, NCAA executive director Cedric Dempsey said that he hoped the continuing dialogue will help alleviate some of the group's concerns.Those concerns are over issues such as minority-hiring practices, freshman eligibility requirements and the access its members have to their respective communities."There are some strong emotions falling on both sides," said Dempsey.

The Baltimore school board reduced last night the number of credits needed to graduate from high school in an attempt to keep more freshmen from dropping out. "Our goal is to help students be productive and successful as they transition from the middle school area to the high school area," board member Brian D. Morris said. Next year, students in the city's neighborhood high schools will need 21 credits to graduate, as opposed to 25. The change will benefit ninth-graders the most. Freshmen will need fewer credits for promotion to the 10th grade.

In May, Stacey Fouts was hired as a fourth- and fifth-grade physical education teacher, a month before earning her bachelor's degree from Quincy University in Illinois. A 3.0 in her curriculum earned her an award as the top senior.But those opportunities would have been lost had Proposition 16 been in effect when she was a senior soccer player at C. Milton Wright five years ago."I wouldn't have made it," said Fouts, 23, from her home in Quincy. "I studied hard at C. Milton Wright, but I'm not a good test-taker.

The Baltimore school board reduced last night the number of credits needed to graduate from high school in an attempt to keep more freshmen from dropping out. "Our goal is to help students be productive and successful as they transition from the middle school area to the high school area," board member Brian D. Morris said. Next year, students in the city's neighborhood high schools will need 21 credits to graduate, as opposed to 25. The change will benefit ninth-graders the most. Freshmen will need fewer credits for promotion to the 10th grade.

Calling Baltimore County's middle schools a "weak link," Superintendent Joe A. Hairston is proposing an overhaul that would toughen instruction for sixth- to eighth-graders and focus their learning on core subjects such as language arts and math. The goal is to improve academic achievement, which test scores indicate drops after pupils leave elementary school. "Middle schools must challenge students to meet higher academic standards, and the curriculum should emphasize a deeper understanding of concepts," said Hairston, who presented the plan to the school board last week.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - It's not Tiger-proofing, it's Titleist-proofing. Masters chairman Hootie Johnson admitted as much yesterday in announcing that a major overhaul of Augusta National is in the works for next year's tournament. "We don't have those plans finalized," Johnson said. "We've been looking at those for four years, but we're confident that we're close enough that the changes will be made. A number of our par-4s will be strengthened from the standpoint of length and others have to do with accuracy off the tee."

As the NCAA implements rules that change one aspect of freshman eligibility requirements, some local coaches applaud while others yawn. High schools now have more of a liberal hand in determining the core courses that athletes must take to participate in college sports during their freshman year. Last spring, an NCAA subcommittee recommended the change, which was approved by the Division I and II membership at last month's NCAA Convention. "The NCAA is saying that you have an educator in charge of the schoolhouse and he or she is going to determine whether these are college level courses these youngsters are taking," said Ron Belinko, athletics coordinator for public schools in Baltimore County.

Students' access to elective courses at Columbia's Wilde Lake High School will be sharply restricted next year under proposed new scheduling guidelines -- and some parents, teachers and students are mobilizing to protest the move.At a PTA meeting Monday attended by more than 200, many decried the changes which would bar all freshmen from taking extra elective courses, restricting access to sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in honors classes."You can have a student in a class labeled as 'gifted and talented' getting a C, but a student in a regular class getting an A is restricted [from taking some electives]

During the 1995-96 academic year, The Sun is tracking the progress of six athletes who are seniors at area high schools. In addition to their accomplishments on the field, we will write about their work in the classroom as they strive to meet the NCAA's tougher academic standards.It took scarcely more than a minute of his official return to Dulaney's lacrosse team last week for Carey Taylorson to work out the frustrations of having missed three-fourths of his senior season.In just 1: 47, he converted the game's first shot for a goal.

Maryland has lost its appeal with the NCAA over the eligibility of Sam Cassell Jr. “We've exhausted every option and made our best effort," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said in a news release. "I'm very pleased with the work that our compliance staff put in on Sam's behalf. Obviously, we're very disappointed that he will be unable to attend the University of Maryland at this time and be a part of our basketball program. We will continue to support Sam and his family in any way that we can as they determine their next steps.

During the 1995-96 academic year, The Sun is tracking the progress of six athletes who are seniors at area high schools. In addition to their accomplishments on the field, we will write about their work in the classroom as they strive to meet the NCA tougher academic standards.Opponents of the NCAA's new standards of eligibility say Proposition 16 will make it harder for minority athletes to qualify as freshmen.The experiences of the four Senior Journal athletes who have not yet made college commitments appear to support that position.

Penn State's class of football recruits is supposed to be No. 1, and Wofford's is probably around 105. The experts are telling Maryland that it finished in the top 25, but until everyone is cleared by the NCAA, the raised standards for freshman eligibility have made recruiting a crazier process than it already was.Coach Mark Duffner and his staff commented yesterday for the first time on the class that returned letters of intent Wednesday, and underneath the...

During the 1995-96 academic year, The Sun is tracking the progress of six athletes who are seniors at area high schools. In addition to their accomplishments on the field, we will write about their work in the classroom as they strive to meet the NCA tougher academic standards.Opponents of the NCAA's new standards of eligibility say Proposition 16 will make it harder for minority athletes to qualify as freshmen.The experiences of the four Senior Journal athletes who have not yet made college commitments appear to support that position.